touched him, saying: “I will; be thou made clean." And forthwith[1] his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus spoke to him: “See thou tell no man[2]; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift[3] which Moses commanded as a testimony[4] to them.”
After this, Jesus returned to Caphamaum. In this city there lived a centurion[5], a Roman, who was friendly to the Jews, and had built them a synagogue. Now the servant of this man was sick and grievously tormented. The centurion, therefore, knowing that Jesus had come back to Capharnaum, besought some of the Jewish elders[6] to go and ask our Lord to come[7] and cure his servant.
Jesus went with them. But when the centurion saw our Lord coming with the ancients, he said: “Lord, I am not worthy[8] that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and
- ↑ Forthwith. How happy the poor man must have been when he both saw and felt that he had been instantaneously cured, and delivered from his horrible sufferings.
- ↑ No man. Take care not to forestall the sentence of the priest, who alone, according to the law, has the right to decide whether you are clean, but go straight to Jerusalem.
- ↑ The gift. A lamb.
- ↑ Testimony. To bear witness, firstly, that I have healed you, and secondly, that I have admonished you to obey the precepts of the law, and that I am, therefore, no enemy either of the law or of the priests. Jesus sent the man thus miraculously cured to the unbelieving priest, in order that the latter might be convinced by the man’s account of what had occurred that Jesus was the Messias and the Son of God. "The leper who had been cured went his way to the holy city and the Temple, being the latest messenger of grace.” (Grimm.) On another occasion Christ healed ten lepers, of whom only one, and he a Samaritan, came to return thanks to God. See Luke 17, 12 — 19.
- ↑ Centurion. A pagan officer of the garrison of Capharnaum, but one who evidently believed in the unseen God of the Jews, since he had built them a synagogue.
- ↑ Elders. The leading men of the synagogue. He sent them, because he, a pagan, did not dare approach the great miracle-worker of Israel. They pleaded for him, saying: "He is worthy that thou shouldst do this for him.”
- ↑ Come. It had not been possible to take the sick man to Jesus. That the centurion had used all human means to cure his servant may be taken for granted.
- ↑ I am not worthy. The centurion had sent to ask Jesus to come; but when he saw from his house that He was really coming, he was seized with a holy diffidence, and hastening to meet our Lord, said: "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof” (for it is not necessary that Thou shouldst come into my house). "Speak the word (only one word is necessary), and my servant shall be healed.”
